Fastener-applying machine



Oct. 28, 1958 H. GALLEN r- TAL FAsTENER-APPLYING MACHINE Filed April l, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INVENTOR.' .z/ari By Md] ATTORNEYS of.2s,195s H. G. ALLEN mL v2,857,596

FASTENERAPPLYING MACHINE ATTORNEYS Oct. 28, 1958 H. G. ALLEN. ETAL FAsTENER-APPLYING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 1, 1957 FIGS FIG. 5Y

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ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Gf f 2,851,596 FAsTENER-APPLYmG MACHINE Howard G. Allen, Stonington, Conn., and Ijldward I. Fisher, Westerly, R. I., assignors to Eostitch, Inc., Stonington, Conn., a corporation of Rhode Island Application April 1, 1957, Serial No. 649,833 9 Claims. (Cl. 1-49) This invention relates to fastener-applying machines and more particularly to a stapling implement for driving U-shaped fasteners having Vrelatively long legs connected by an upper crown or crossbar.

One object of the invention is to provide in a machine of the type indicated a magazine for holding a supply of fasteners with a removable door or closure at the forward end thereof for gaining access to the throat or raceway through which the staples are driven so that jammed staples may be dislodged therefrom.

Another object is to provide an improved closure or door for closing the throat at the forward end of the magazine with conveniently-operable means for clamping lthe door in closed relationship on the magazine.

Another object is to provide clamping means for normally holding the door or closure in closed relationship at the end of the magazine withmanually-operable means for releasing said clamping means to permit removal of said closure.

Another object is to provide eccentric cam-means for applying pressure to said clamping means to iixedly hold the closure in closed relationship.

Another object is to provide a manually-operable lever for operating said cam-means to apply force to the clamping means for holding the door or closure closed or to release said cam-means from the clamping means to permit removal of said closure from the magazine.

Further objects of the invention are set forth in the following specification which is illustrated by way of eX- ample by the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the complete implement comprising a magazine for containing a supply of staples and staple-driving means enclosed in a cylinder surmounting the staple-magazine, with this part of the implement shown in section in a vertical plane common tothe axis of said cylinder;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the staple magazine and lower portion of the cylinder which surmounts it; with the removable closure on the magazine and its clamping means also illustrated in vertical section and showing the staple-driver during its initial descent for separating a staple from the stick or refill unit;

Fig. 3v is a similar enlarged sectional view showing the staple-driver at the endof its descent after driving a staple into the work;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view showing the removable door or closure in place at the forward end ofthe magazine and the clamping means therefor engaged by the cam'for holding the closure in closed relationship;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View through the lower part of the implement taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 3 and showing the construction of the staple-magazine and the hollow core mounted therein for supporting staples to feed to the driving means;

Fig. 6 isa transverse sectional view of the lower portion of the vertical cylinder taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 2 and showing the construction of the mounting for the A throat or raceway to clog 2 staple-driver to adapt it to reciprocate in' the raceway or throat at the forward end of the magazine;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view through the cylinder in which the staple-driver reciprocates taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 1 and showing its connectionwith au` upper cylinder carrying the percussion piston reciprocated by fluid-pressure for actuating the staple-driver;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the removable door or closure for the throat at the forward end of the magazine;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the staple-driver;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the vertical wall at the forward end of the magazine with which the door or closure cooperates to form the throat or raceway for the staple-driver;

Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view on line 11--11 of Fig. 3 showing the arrangement of the clamping means for securing the door or closure in' closed relationship to form lthe throat or raceway in which the staple-driver reciprocates; and

Fig. 12 is an enlarged side elevational view of the forward end of the magazine showing the clamping means as released to permit removal of the door or closure.

The present invention is herein illustrated and described as applied to a duid-pressure operated fastener-applying implement adapted to be transported and operated manu-v ally by control of the motive force, such as compressed air, for actuating the staple-driving mechanism. It is to be understood, however, that the presentimprovements may be applied to use with other types of fastener-applying machines operated either manually or by power for driving different types of fasteners into the work.

In machines of the present type, particularly stapling implements, the staples sometimes become malformed or distorted in shape causing them to bind and jam in the the machine and prevent subsequent operation thereof. In such machines where the throat or raceway is closed at the front it is diicult, in fact sometimes impossible, to clear it by dislodging a jammed staple, especially if a second staple has been driven down onto the one ing to the present improvement, a conveniently detachable plate or closure member is provided for the front of the throat or raceway so that it can be opened for access thereto to dislodge the jammed staple and clear the machine.

Referring first to Fig. 1 of the present drawings, the machine as herein illustrated comprises a magazine 2 for containing fasteners, such as vertical cylinder 3 surmounting said magazine at the forward end thereof and containing the driving mechanism including a reciprocable piston for intermittently actuating said driving means.

The magazine 2 is generally of conventional U.shape and preferably constructed of sheet-metal (Fig. 5) folded to form a bottom 4 and upstanding sides 5 with inturned anges 6 at theV top. A staple-core 10, also formed from sheet-metal bent into U-shaped with upstanding sides 11, extends longitudinally i to support a supply of staples s straddled thereacross (Fig. 2). The rearward end of the magazine 2 is open for loading the staples thereinto, usually in the form of sticks or refills S. The forward end of the magazine 2 is partially closed by =a vertical wall formed -by a platemember 15 (Fig. 10) having an opening 16 at the top and spaced vertical slots 17 through which the staples feed into the throat -or raceway 19 in which the stapledriver 20 reciprocates (Figs. 1, 2)'. The platev 15 may be brazed, welded or otherwise suitably attached to the ends of the sides 5 and bottom 4 of the magazine 2 and is formed with a central slot 18 in its forward face of a depth corresponding to the thickness of the lower blade- Patented Oct. .28, 1958 jammed therebelow. Accord^V U-shaped staples, with a within the magazine to adapt it portion 22 of the staple-driver 20 (Figs. 9, 10). The upper portion of the staple-driver 20 is of cylindrical form to constitute a plunger 23 adapted to slide in a bore in the cylinder 3.

A front plate 25 forming a removable door or closure (Fig. 8) for the throat 19 is complementary to the plate 15 to adapt' it to fitV closely thereagainst and be fastened thereto. closure-plate 25 is aY narrower slot 26 for receiving a rib 27 which rreinforces the blade-portion 22 of the stapledriver 20 (Figs. 8, 9, 1l). The closure-plate 25 is beveled across its top yat 28 and slightly therebelow its lateral portions are formed with V-shaped grooves or notches 30 for receiving releasable detent-means 31 (Figs. 3, 10) engageable therein to locate` the plate 25 in position and sustain it vertically. The detent-means 31 may consist of rounded protuberances on the ends of pins driven into the plate 415 at the forward end of the magazine 2.

The closure-plate or door 25 is secured in place by means of a bowed clamping member 35 consistingin a relativelystiif sheet-metal strip of spring-metal having a narrower ear 36 (Figs. 2, 4) curled over forwardly at its upper end with shoulders 37 at the sides. For hingedly mounting the clamp 35 at the front of the closure-plate 25 its ear 36 is hooked through an opening 38 in a plate 39 and engaged with the top of said plate which overlies the top of the magazine 2. The lower end of the clamping member 35 is forced against the front of the closure-plate or door 25 by means of an eccentricallyshaped cam 40 mounted for rotation to bind it against the arcuate portion of the clamp. The cam 40 may be formed on a rod or shaft 41 (Figs. 4, l2) by atting olf one side thereof. The shaft 41 is mounted to rotate in bearings in a pair of vertical plates 42 welded or otherwise suitably secured to the sides of the magazine 2 (Figs. l, 2, 4, Fast on one end of the shaft 41 is a lever 50 having its free end bent into a iinger-hold for turning it to rotate the cam 40.

The plates 42 have right-angular flanges 43 at the top which serve for mounting the cylinder 3 above the forward end of the magazine. For this purpose screws 44 Extending longitudinally at the center of theV inserted through the flanges 43 and plate 39, previously described, are screwed into a rectangular base plate 45 fastened to the bottom of the cylinder 3. As herein shown the cylinder 3 is formed with acircumferential groove 46 in which is seated a spring ring 47 engaging shoulders 48 in the bore of the plate 45. It will be understood that when the parts are thus assembled in connection with the magazine 2 arthroat 19 is provided between the plate member 15 and the closure-plate or door 25 for receiving a staple fed from the magazine 2 and likewise providing a raceway for the lower blade-portion 22 of the reciprocating staple-driver 20 with its rib V27 guided in the narrower slot 26 of the closure. The staples s are slid forwardly on the core 10 to feed them singly into the throat 19 by means of a follower or pusher 51 (Fig. 2). The pusher 51 is impelled forwardly by means of a helical spring 52 fastened at one end to a depending lug 54, thence engaging around a pulley 56 on a spindle 57 held in the side walls of the core 10 and extending rearwardly with its opposite end anchored to a loop-shaped member 58 hooked through a slot 59 inthe bottom 4 of the magazine.

The cylinder 3 which surmounts the staple-magazine 2 is herein shown as constructed in three sections, its lower portion 60 being connected to the magazine in the manner above described. Mounted in the upper end of the section 60 is an inner cylinder 61 (Fig. l) to which is attached a handle 62 containing the valve-mechanism for controlling the fluid-pressure, such as compressed air, employedfor reciprocating a piston to actuate the stapledriver for driving 'a staple by repeated percussive blows. The inner cylinder 61 is connected to the lower section 60 by means of a spring-ring 65 (Figs. l, 7) seated in "n A Y' 4 a circumferential groove in its upper end and engaging lugs 66 fast in the lower end Vof an outer cylindrical easing 67 (Figs. l, 7), said lugs being slidable in vertical slots 68 formed on the opposite sides of the cylindersection 60. l

A helical spring 70 within the lower cylinder section 60 is seated against the plate 39 with its upper end engaging around ya cup-shaped washer 71 to normally .sustain the upper cylinder-section 61 raised 1n the relationship shown lin Fig. l. The outer cylindrical casing 67 is slitted in its upper portion with a binder-screw 72 I (Fig. l) extending through ears 73 on its opposite split portions to clamp it around the upper cylinder-section` 61 for connecting the several parts last described and provide a depressible head 74.

The handle 62, previously mentioned, is bored on its under side and threaded to screw onto the upper reduced end of the cylinder-section 61, thus providing the slidable head 74 with means for manually depressing it to initially carry the driver 20 down into engagement with the staple s fed into the throat 19. Thereafter, the downward sliding movement of the head 74 is continued to cause the driver 20 to follow the staple as it is progressively driven into the work. The driver 20 is actuated' intermittently by repeated blows of a piston slidably mounted in the axial bore 81 of the cylinder 61. The` construction of the valve-mechanism for controlling uidpressure to reciprocate the piston 80 is in accordance with previously known devices of the percussive type and there- ,f y

fore will only be described briey herein.

Air from a suitable source, not shown, is supplied to the machine through a hose 82 (Fig. l) connected to an inlet 83 in the outer end of the handle 62. A port 84 1 leads from the inlet 83 into a cylindrical bore 85, ther outer end of which is closed by a screw-plug 86. Slidable in the bore 85 is a valve-member 87 which is urged tof ward the left to close it by a coiled spring 88 having one' .end seated in a counterbore in the end of said member with its opposite end held in a similar counterbore in the screw-plug 86. A trigger 89 having a cylindrical stem 90 mounted to slide in a bore in the under side of the handle 62 has a slot in its upper end engaging one arm'.` of a rockable lever 91, the opposite arm of which bears against the end of the valve-member 87 to slide the latter against the tension of the spring 88. The valvemember 87 has a relatively wide slot 92 in its upper side adapted when said member is slid to the right to open the port 84 and also a passage 93 leading into a duct 94 which is extended longitudinally of the handle 62 to communicate withv the upper end of the bore 81 in which the piston 80 reciprocates. There are two inlet ports at the top of the cylinder 61, one designated opening into the upper end of the bore 81 and the other 96 leading into f a vertical duct 97, the lower end of which has a port 98 communicating with the lower end of the bore 81. On the opposite side of the bore 81 is an exhaust passage 99 1 leading to the interior of the outer casing 67 to exhaust. the air through its open lower end during the descent of` f the piston 80. Surrounding the upper end of the cylinder 61 is a floating annular valve 100 which operates to alternately open one inlet port 95 and close the other port` e 96, and vice versa, in a manner common to percussivelydriven devices of the prior art. The method of operation .f of the present valve-system and the percussive action of the piston 80 is described hereinafter in connection with the operation of the complete machine.

The method of operation of the complete machine is For loading the magazine 2 with.` staples the follower or pusher 51 (Fig. 3v) is retracted; against the tension of the spring 52, turned down through,` the slot 59 in the bottom of the magazine 2 and hooked thereunder in the manner illustrated by dot-and-dash lines A in Fig. 2. A supply of staples, usually connected together in sticks S, may be inserted into the 'magazine 2 atits` E, rearward end to slidably mount them on 'the' Ycore '10."

explanied as follows:

The pusher 51 is then replaced at the rear of the staples so that it will function to progressively feed the whole series forwardly to enter a sngle staple into the throat or raceway 19.

The machine may be transported to and placed on the Work manually by grasping the handle 62 with the forefinger used to compress the trigger 89 (Fig. l). In starting the operation of the machine the handle 62 is first moved down to depress the head 74 `as the casing 67 slides down on the lower cylinder-section 60. With compressed air or other suitable Huid-pressure applied to the valve-mechanism the trigger 89 is drawn upwardly to slide the valve-member 87 toward the right, as viewed in Fig. l, so as to open the port, 84 and release the air to feed through the passage 93 and longitudinal duct 94 for admission into the bore 81 of the cylinder 6i. At this juncture the floating valve-annulus 100 will be shifted to the left as shown in Fig. l to open the port 95 and close the port 96 so that the pressure will be admitted through the port 95 to enter the upper end of the bore Si for driving the piston 80 downwardly.

To start the operation of the staple-driving mechanism the handle 62 is first pressed downwardly to cause the head 74 carrying the upper cylinder-section 61 to descend until the staple-driver 20 makes contact with the fed staple s in the throat 19. Then as air is admitted into the upper end of the bore 81 the piston 80 will be rapidly forced downwardly to cause its lower end to engage the upper end of the stem or plunger 23 of the driver 20 whereby to slide the latter downwardly to an extent determined by the force of the blow and resistance to penetration of the staple into the work. During the descent of the piston 80 air is exhausted from the lower portion of the bore 81 through the opening 99 at its lower end to escape to the atmosphere through the open bottom of the casing 67. At the first stroke of the driver 26 the leading staple s is separated from the end of the stick S and the annular valve-member 100 will be shifted across center by reversal of the pressure so as to close the port 95 at the top of the bore S1 and open the port 96 on the opposite side of the cylinder 61. The air will therefore flow down through the duct 97 to enter the lower end of the bore 81 through the port 9S for reversing the stroke of the piston to drive it upwardly. As the piston reaches the top of the bore 81 the valve 10% is again shifted in position to reverse the stroke of the piston 80, and thus the driver 20 is actuated progressively to drive a staple until its legs are completely penetrated into the Work.

It will be understood that as the piston 80 drives thev staple-driver 20 downwardly in the throat 19 the head 74 will be caused to follow it by the pressure of the operator on the handle 62. In this way intermittent operation of the driver 20 is effected by successive blows of the piston 89 with a percussive force to insure complete driving of the relatively long legs of the staple into the Work.

It will be understood that during the operation of the machine the throat or raceway 19 is closed by the door 25 held fixedly against the front of the magazine 2 by the clamp 35 under the force applied by the cam 40. Should, however, a malformed staple become jammed in the throat 19 the operator has only to turn the lever 50 into the position illustrated by dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 12 to release the cam 40 from the clamp 35 and thereupon the door or closure 25 may be slid downwardly and removed. When the throat has been cleared of an obstruction the door or closure 25 is replaced by simply sliding it upwardly along the face of the plate 15 until its notches 30 engage with the detent-elements 31. The lever 50 then may be swung back to rotate the cam 40 and apply pressure to the clamp 35 (Figs. l, 3) for fiXedly securing the door 25 in closed relationship.

It will be observed from the foregoing specification that the present invention provides an improved fastenerlimitation as to the exact construction and arrangement@ t the mechanism of the machine as herein shown and described,

We claim:

l. In a fastener-applying machine comprising a magia-V zine for holding a supply of fasteners, and a fastener.-

driver, said magazine having a slotted wall at its end with openings through which the fasteners may be fed, a'

closure adapted to fit against said Wall with a throat therebetween for receiving the fasteners and providing a raceway for said driver, a clamp at the front of, said closure, and cam-means for binding said clamp against said closure to iixedly hold it in closed relationship at the front of the throat.

2. In a fastener-applying machine comprising a driver for driving fasteners into-the work, anda magazine for containing a supply of fasteners, a member at the forward end of the magazine forming the rearward wall of a raceway for said fastener-driver, a closure for the front of said raceway, a clamp mounted at the front of said closure, and manually-operable cam-means for forcing said clamp against said closure to xedly hold it in closed relationship at the front of the raceway.

3. In a machine of the type indicated comprising a reciprocable driver, a magazine for containing a supply of fasteners, a member closing the forward end of said magazine and having an opening through which the fasteners may be fed, a removable closure overlying said member With a slot therebetween to form a raceway for said fastener-driver, a bowed clamp at the front of said closure, eccentric cam-means at the front of said clamp, and means for manually operating said cam-means to apply pressure to said clamp to force it against the closure for Xedly holding it in closed relationship.

4. In a fastener-applying machine, a hollow magazine for containing a supply of fasteners, a member closing the open end of said magazine with an opening therein for the fasteners to feed therethrough, a closure abutting the forward face of said member on the magazine with a slot therebetween providing a raceway, a fastener-driver reciprocable in said raceway, a bowed clamp mounted at the front of said closure for engaging thereagainst, an eccentric cam at the front of said clamp, and a manuallyoperable lever for rotating said cam to apply pressure to the clamp for forcing it against the closure to hold the latter iiXedly in place closing said raceway.

5. In a fastener-applying machine, a hollow magazine for containing a supply of U-shaped fasteners, means bridging the opening at the forward end of said magazine with an opening therein through which the fasteners may be fed, a removable door adapted to abut said partially closed end of the magazine with a slotted opening i therebetween providing a throat through which the fasteners may be driven, a bowed clamp mounted at the front of said door with its lower end engaging thereagainst, and cam-means engageable with said clamp for applying pressure thereto to force the clamp against the door for rigidly holding it in closed relationship.

6. In a fastener-applying machine, a hollow magazine for containing a supply of fasteners, said magazine closed at its forward end except for an opening through Which the fasteners may be fed, a door adapted to overlie the forward end of the magazine, yieldable detent-means for holding said door in position abutting the partially closed end of the magazine with a slotted opening therebetween forming a throat through which the staples may be driven, a bowed clamp at the front of said door, an eccentric cam at the front vof said clamp, `means for. rotatably supporting said cam toadapt it to engagerthe clamp to bind itv against the closure door, and manually-operable means for rotating-said cam.

7. In a hollow magazine for containing a supply of staples, a wall extending across the forward end of said magazine and provided with an opening through which staplesmay be` fed from the magazine, a closure abutting the forward face of said wall," said member and closure cooperating to provide a raceway therebetween through which staples may be driven, a bowed clamping member mounted at the front of said closure, an eccentric cam engageable with said clamping member, bearings for rotatably supporting said cam, and a lever connected to said cam for rotating it to apply pressure to the clamping member for binding the door against the forward wall on the magazine.

8. In a stapling Vmachine embodying a reciprocable driver, a magazine for containing staples, a member extending across the end of said magazine and provided With an opening through which the'staples may be fed, a door abutting the front of said member with a slotted throat therebetween through which the staples may be driven, notches in the rearward face of said door, detentprotuberances on the front of said member engageable` with said notches to locate said door in position at the front of said member, a bowed semi-resilient clamp mounted at the front of said door, bearings at the side of said clamp, a shaft rotatably mounted in said bearings and provided with an eccentric cam engageable with said clamp,.and a lever for rotating said shaft to cause the cam to apply pressure to the clamp to force it against the door for holding it in closed position at the front of the magazine.

9. In a hollow magazine for containing a supply of staples, a wall extending across the end of said magazineV and formed with openings for the head and legs vof a staple to adapt it to be fed therethrough from the maga-v zine, a removable door abutting the front of said wall on the magazine with a slot therebetween providing av throat through which the staples may be driven, a clamp supported at the front of said door, bearings mounted adjacent said door, a shaft rotatable in said bearings and carrying a cam engageable with said clamp, and means for turning said shaft to cause the cam to force the clamp against the door to hold it in xed positionclosing the throat at the front of the magazine.

No references cited.

Notice of Adverse Decision in Interference In Interference N o. 92,752 involving Patent N o. 2,857,596, H. G. Allen and I. Fisher, Fastener-applying machine, nal judgment adverse to the patentees was rendered Dec. 14, 1962, as to claims 1 and 2. [Oficial Gazette February 5, 1963.]

Disclaimer 2,857,596-H0wcwd G. Allen, tonngton, Conn., and Edwad Fisher,

Westerly, Rl. FAsTENER-APPLYING MACHINE. Patent dated Oct. 28, Y 1958. Bsclamer led Jan. 7, 1963, by the assignee, Bosz'toh, Im. m

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims l and 2 of said patent.

[Ocz'al Gazette Febmf/y Q6, 1963.] 

